Climbing the Stacks; part one - Student Affairs

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Staci B Elliott

Climbing the Stacks; part one
September 8, 2008

From retired librarians to respected authors of mountaineering resource books, the community who support the Mazama Mountaineering Library’s function are every bit as impressive as the library itself. With this in mind, today’s post will focus on Mr. Lockerby, whom I interviewed earlier this week, and subsequent posts will talk more about this very special library and the history of the Mazamas themselves.

Meet Robert “Bob” Lockerby. As he says, “Climbing literature isn’t my passion; sci-fi and military history are.” Intelligent, funny, thoughtful, and occasionally gruff: Bob is a born project manager, and an example of unwavering integrity. In the two hours I spent interviewing him, Bob told me a variety of engaging and amazing stories from his life—all unfortunately “off the record.” He also gave me tantalizing glimpses of the great treasures and resources housed in the second-largest Mountaineering Library in the country, which he currently oversees.

The responsibility of managing the Mazamas Library and its resources is shared among several librarians, with Bob coordinating the overall vision. I was amazed to discover that all of the workers are there as part-time volunteers, and perform every function from sorting donations to preservation to cataloging and reference work, picking up the thread of the job where other older librarians left off.

Robert Lockerby graduated with an M.L.S. from Immaculate Heart College in 1967. He worked as a librarian for Portland State University (PSU) for 32 years. In that time, he worked his way through several positions including references services for Engineering and Science, and Public Services. Bob performed PSU’s first official online search of a database. He also coordinated library services during the renovation and expansion of the PSU Library. His motto is that we librarians show our patrons (and our students) whatever information they request, but it is up to them to learn it and make use of it.

Bob, his wife, and his son are all lead-certified, which means they are currently qualified to lead mountain climbs for the Mazamas. Bob himself has been climbing since 1981. He says that it takes two things to succeed in climbing a mountain: Reasonably good physical shape, and strong determination. Of the two, determination seems to be the more important. “You get up at 4am, when it’s cold and dark. You walk up hill for the next two, four, six, eight hours… and then you turn around and walk back down. The challenge is to continue putting one foot in front of the other for all those hours.” It is, he explains, mostly mental.

To join the Mazamas, one must climb to the summit of a glaciated peak. According to the website, there are around 3,000 members. I highly recommend checking out their website. Particularly the link to “General Information,” (http://www.mazamas.org/) the link to “Mazamas FAQs,” and the “Mazama Library” page’s resource list. Wow.

Bob is quick to speak to the talents and contributions of his fellow volunteers. If you’re ever in Portland, Oregon, I highly recommend dropping by the Mazamas Mountaineering Library, and gleaning from the lore, knowledge, and wisdom this man and his library have to offer about libraries, climbing, leadership, history, and about life.

*Learn more about the Mazamas Mountaineering Library in “Climbing the Stacks; part two.”

Posted by Staci B Elliott on September 8, 2008 | Comments (2)

September 12, 2008
In response to: Climbing the Stacks; part one
Kim commented:

Interesting, as is everything you write. I don't think the idea (in your previous post) of being a vendor would appeal to most graduates, but it is certainly one idea. A friend of mine told me that at the ALA conference in 2007 it was said that graduates should look outside the traditional library field for employment since not enough library jobs are available, which would be a surprise to some professors I know. (These are the same professors who have told me that ALA tells them to keep recruiting to meet some future need out there beyond the rainbow and over the stars.) At that conference, apparently no specific mention was given as to what jobs these newly minted librarians should be considering if they can't find traditional work. Ellen, for example, is interested in Youth Services and will probably find a traditional job because she can look in a fairly large market. But what else could she do? Here's another point, if we are so unwelcoming of newcomers as a profession, what will happen once the old folks retire and there are not enough rising stars among Generation X and Y ready for upper level managerial positions?

November 4, 2008
In response to: Climbing the Stacks; part one
Staci commented:

Good question. I'm struggling with the same concerns myself. Library world doesn't seem to see the value of my ten years of experience as a Systems and Communications Coordinator cum Secretary in offices-- Offices don't seem to see the value of my MLS... It's frightening.